NORFOLK, Va. – Lea Kerstein’s three with 0.4 seconds left in overtime lifted the Blazers over Old Dominion Thursday night to give the Monarch’s their first home loss of the season.
“What a great team win tonight with so many players contributing,” said head coach Randy Norton. “I thought we played with a lot of toughness and showed great poise down the stretch.”
Miyah Barnes led all scorers with 16 points while collecting five rebounds and dishing out four assists. Angela Vendrell had a big night with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Rachael Childress added 10 points for her 28th double-figure performance of the season.
UAB (19-10, 11-6 C-USA) started the first quarter strong, holding the Monarchs scoreless for almost nine minutes and scoring the first 16 points of the game led by Barnes with nine.
Old Dominion (24-5, 14-3 C-USA) responded scoring the final six points of the first quarter and using that momentum for a 21-point burst in the second quarter to take the one-point lead at halftime, 27-26. Marie Reichert scored nine in the second quarter to help lead the Monarchs on an 8-0 run.
The Blazers answered in the third quarter outscoring the Monarchs 16-10 to regain the lead, 42-37.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth battle as UAB opened with the first five points before ODU went on a 12-2 run to tie the game at 49-49. Down the stretch the two teams traded points as a pair of free throws from Ajah Wayne tied the game at 55-55 with 17 seconds left. The Blazers had the final possession of regulation but failed to score, sending the game into overtime.
With 24 seconds on the clock in overtime and the game tied at 61 the Blazers had the ball with a chance to take one final shot for the win. Barnes drove the lane, drawing in three ODU defenders as Kerstein set a flare screen for Childress leaving herself wide open behind the arc to receive the pass from Barnes and sink the three with 0.4 seconds remaining. ODU had one last inbound pass to try and tie the game but failed to get the shot off in time as UAB held on for a 64-61 victory. The loss was just the fifth of the season for the Monarchs, and the second to UAB as the Blazers took the first meeting in Birmingham in January.
“I got put in the game and I was ready to go, I wanted to beat the number one team on their home court where they were undefeated,” said Kerstein. “I was thinking ‘get Rachael (Childress) open’, but when I saw my man help all the way off, I filled up and was wide open.”
Bench players stepped up big in the final quarters of the game as Vendrell fouled out in the fourth quarter and Johnson and Magee both fouled out in overtime. The Blazers were clutch from the free throw line knocking down 9-of-11 at the charity stripe. The Monarchs earned 22 trips to the charity stripe but shot just 54.5 percent.
The Blazers close out the regular season at home against Southern Miss on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Bartow Arena for Senior Day. Fans are encouraged to stick around after the game as the seniors are celebrated in a post-game ceremony.
# UAB #
